Documentary: Forks Over Knives

Forks Over Knives. (2011). [film] USA: Monica Beach Media. (why section)

This film is more to do with people's health rather than gluten itself but it gives an insight into people's opinions and lifestyles and why our diets are becoming such a problem not only for us but also for society.

• 'Clearly the Western diet is taking a toll. It serves as a wake up call with this growing problem and the thing that is growing is us' - link to Peter Menzel's photos 
•  'Food. It's central to our lives and traditions.' 'Every special occasion seems to involve food or feasting' - look into traditions, what's on the table?
• Looks into foods that we perceive as being healthy but may be causing health problems - can link to gluten as people think it's healthy but if you're not intolerant it can be bad for you
• '40% of Americans today are obese. 1/2 of Americans are taking a prescription drug'
• Genetics play a factor - Mexican/Black Americans are more likely to be overweight - is this their diet or their genes?
• America spends 5X more on the health budget than the defence at 2.2 trillion dollars - pay more per person on health care than any industrialised nation in the world - link to Menzel
• 'There's no money in healthy people and there's no money in dead people' supermarket ploys
• The money is in the people with a chronic condition (this is the case for gluten free foods as they have no other choice they have to buy it so therefore can keep the prices up)
• The film explores the relationship between diet and disease - people think their health is pretty good but they are not aware
• 'The idea of nutrition to promote health is nothing new. Hipocrates, the Ancient Greek father of modern medicine said 'Let food be thy medicine' over 2,000 years ago.' 
• It wasn't until recently that the science behind the observation was systematically applied
• Back in the 1930s Colin Campbell PHD said that milk was believed to be 'natures perfect food' so much so in fact that in the early 20th Century there were advertisements of children being switched straight from breast to cows milk
• This shows that, in response to gluten, researchers are now starting to uncover the bad habits that have been laid down for centuries however we have become in such a rut in society to change that we don't see or listen to other opinions as it's all that we know. Because we have been told for centuries that these things are good for us, a few people saying it isn't will be met with some resistance. It takes some people to start forward and make a change.